The project Stigma/Anima and Animus directs the viewers gaze to the social phenomenon whereby the foreign and the unknown are dressed in stereotypes. The project is leans upon common, well known stigmas which exist within all of us and which surface on a daily basis in both the public and private spheres. Practically seeping into us without our realization, they are brought to bear on those who are of different appearance, behavior, culture, and belief than us.

          In the exhibit Anima and Animus, different stigmas are printed and impressed upon ribbons of cloth and worn by the participants. In the exhibit, they are decorated in much the same way as beauty pageant winners – focusing on exterior appearance and harsh judgement. Here, the participants are decorated in stigmas directly relating to their perception in Israeli society. This performance publicly addresses and reflects the “taboo”, and otherwise politically incorrect.

          As the performance progresses, the participants discard their “stigmas” and their outer clothing to reveal white undershirts bearing the symbols of anima and animus (anima, the feminine archetype in the male subconscious – an upward pointing triangle; animus, the masculine archetype in the female subconscious – an inverted triangle. According to Jung, we are born with both anima and animus – that is to say bisexual – and that our sexual tendencies are determined and continue to develop throughout our lives). The act of removing the ribbons represents a release from labels and stigmas, and a return to childhood – to the world naïve and infantile.